Local officials in Rhode Island worry state’s large Latino population may be less willing to participate

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A Rhode Island dress rehearsal for the 2020 census is turning into an early battleground for the Trump administration’s recent decision to ask respondents if they are U.S. citizens.

Last month, residents in Providence County began receiving a federal mailer asking them to answer 10 questions about their age, race and the size of their household. It is a trial run for the Census Bureau’s decennial population count, which will reshape the congressional district map and determine where billions of dollars a year...